Why I Decided to Become a Virtual Assistant and Social Media Manager

A lot of people go through life looking for their purpose. We get up every day and head to a job that we hate to put food in our mouths. We constantly dream and hope for something better while punching a time clock.

I think finding our purpose is something we all go through at some point in our lives. For me, it hit a month before I turned 29. It was one of those ah-ha moments where I started questioning everything and everyone I had surrounded myself with. Like most kids, I had huge aspirations I wanted to achieve by the time I was 30. I was going to be a married, soccer mom of 3 with a dog, and I was going to be a CFO of an emerging company.

And Then I Grew Up…

When I turned 29, I was only about halfway to my goal. I was married and we had purchased our first home, but there were no kids or dog (yet), and because we had just moved back to Colorado, I didn’t have a job so… yeah, I definitely wasn’t going to reach the CFO goal by 30. I really struggled with this for about a month and a half. I have always been the type to strive and push to reach every goal that I set for myself. It was a hard pill to swallow to know that I had let myself down. But as life goes by and your priorities change, sometimes you need to take a step back and re-evaluate your goals.

I began to realize how much I had accomplished, how grateful I should have been, and how blessed I was. I also realized that I had a ton of negativity in my life. Poor habits and negative people had played a catalyst in my then low-self esteem. I knew by keeping myself surrounded with negativity, I would likely never reach my goals. So I began to move away from the negativity and the confidence began to return!

I Began to Set New Goals For Myself…

Since then, new goals have been set; we have adopted a gorgeous girl from the humane society that reminds us each and every day how lucky we are that she decided to come home with us. 😉 We also had our first baby.

After Aubrey was born, we decided that I would become a full-time stay-at-home mom. Staying home was a HUGE adjustment for me. It was always something that I wanted to do, but never thought it would be an option for us.At about 4 months postpartum I began to miss work.

Insert Mom-guilt Here…

Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being home! I am so thankful I am able to be, but I had worked since I was 16. So going from working non-stop to not was something I had to get used to. I knew I wanted to find something to do part-time. Something where I could have adult conversations and feel like Sarah, not just mommy.It didn’t need to be every day, I was thinking maybe once or twice a week.

As I researched Pinterest for work-at-home ideas, I considered the usuals: MLMs, ETSY, etc.. None of them were really for me. They just weren’t the right fit for me. I contemplated ETSY because I love to craft, but I didn’t want a ton of inventory laying around my house. As we got into the holiday season I kept myself busy by planning the perfect “babies first Christmas”.

During the winter months, I kept myself so busy with planning Christmas and Aubrey’s first birthday, that the thoughts of going back to work were placed on the back burner. I still wanted to do it, but I hadn’t determined a strong enough WHY yet. As we moved into the summer months, I again found myself feeling stir crazy. By this time the baby was sleeping through the night and I had streamlined most all of our daily processes. I wouldn’t say life was easy, but it was a heck of a lot easier than it was the previous summer.

My Ah-ha Moment

On a hot summer afternoon in July, I was mindlessly scrolling my Facebook feed as I did most days during nap time. I had seen a post by Beachbody Supertrainer Chalene Johnson that spoke to her heartbreak as she had an employee that she had to let go for embezzling from her. While I perused the comments, I saw someone had made a comment and posted a link to their virtual assistant website. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the link… THE SEED WAS PLANTED…

I Wanted to Become a Virtual Assistant

I was in awe. I loved the sleekness of the website and was amazed that someone could work from home for xx hours a month and make as much as she charged. It was obvious to me that she had been a Virtual Assistant a while (which is why the prices were much higher), and she had taken the time to streamline her processes. I immediately thought to myself “I can do that!”

Immediately, I turned again to my beloved Pinterest and began researching. I searched “work from home”, “virtual assistant”, “VA”, “start your own VA Business”. I searched Pinterest high and low to find out more about this virtual assistant thing. Every article I opened brought up more questions…

How do I start?

Do I need to go work for a company or start my own?

How much $$ could I make?

Sign up for job boards? Use Facebook?

How much will it cost me?

How much time will I need to dedicate to it daily?

Will I have to have set hours or can I work on my schedule?

If I take a course, which course? How much will that set me back?

Trusting Your Gut

The more articles I read, the more I researched. I took copious notes and made several pro/con lists. In completing my research, I found that going out on my own and creating my own company would work best for me and my growing family.I loved the idea of going out on my own because I can work when and where I want as long as I am meeting client deadlines. My income potential is directly related to myself and the effort I put forth. I wanted something that would be mine. All mine. Something I could grow. Something that would fill the void I had been feeling for the past year. It would be my decision to fail forward and do it scared, to take action and work towards my dreams and the goals that I had set for my family. I want my family to be able to live a life by design, not a life that we have to take a vacation from.

So here I am, making my declaration known that I want to live my life by design. I want to be able to give freely and know that my family will be taken care of.

4 thoughts on “Why I Decided to Become a Virtual Assistant and Social Media Manager”

I love your story😊
Congratulations on both your baby girls!
We have 2 mutts, 1 kitty, 4 chickens and expecting our first child❤️
Building a business is risky and scary yet exhilarating and freeing at the same time.
High five to you for finding a way to fulfill yourself and sustain your family’s future🙌🏻
Angela
Dream Life Initiative

Thank you so much for your wonderful Comment! I was so nervous about posting my first blog, especially when its something so personal. I have a few more planned and scheduled already, I guess I am still working on finding my “blog voice”. Babies are so much fun! Do you know what you’re having? I am so scared, but I figured why wait? I’ll start it now and If I make it profitable great, and if not, then I can at least say I tried. 🙂 SB

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Sarah Bowman is the founder and owner of Sarah Bowman Assisting. She is a virtual assistant and social media manager based in southern Colorado. She's a naptime hustler to an energetic toddler and a busy wife to an amazing husband. She loves crafting and spending time with her family.